Charges: Intoxicated off-duty Washington County deputy crashes with family driving to apple orchard

An off-duty but in uniform Washington County sheriff’s deputy was charged Friday with being drunk when he caused a head-on crash near Afton and injured a couple and five children in their vehicle.

Campbell Johnston Blair, 58, of Hastings was charged with criminal vehicular operation and carrying a pistol while under the influence of alcohol stemming from the collision that occurred about 10:40 a.m. Sunday on Hwy. 95 at Scenic Lane.

Blair was charged by summons. Court records do not list an attorney for him. Blair was contacted by phone, and he declined to comment about the allegations.

The deputy was heading north in his Subaru Crosstrek, crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a southbound Ford Expedition, the State Patrol said.

He and two of the other vehicle’s occupants, 38-year-old Erik Robert Sward and 36-year-old Heather Lynn Sward, both of Lake Elmo, were taken to Regions Hospital with noncritical injuries, according to the patrol.

Patrol Lt. Mike Lee said the five children with the Swards, ages 2 to 9, suffered “very minor” injuries.

According the charges:

Witnesses behind Blair reported his vehicle continuously going from lane to lane for 2 miles amid heavy traffic.

Blair was in his Sheriff’s Office uniform and had his duty vest and pistol on the front passenger seat at the time of the crash. He told a trooper he had worked from 9 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Sunday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul and had been called back.

However, the investigation revealed that Blair had not been summoned back to the hospital for additional duties.

Blair agreed at the hospital to take a preliminary breath test, and it measured his blood alcohol content at 0.092%, above the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

Blair has been a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2020 and is assigned to the court security unit.

The Sheriff’s Office said Thursday night that it has placed Blair on administrative leave and opened an internal investigation.

Erik Sward’s mother shared on Facebook that her son and his family were heading to an apple orchard to celebrate the 2nd birthday of the couple’s daughter when the crash occurred.

“Thankfully, Erik’s quick reflexes allowed him to swerve at the last moment, preventing a more severe crash,” Jodi Sward wrote.

She said her son suffered fractures to a knee, ankle and a vertebra.

“His children, along with their cousins, emerged with only minor scratches and bruises, while Heather sustained scrapes, bruises, and significant soreness,” she wrote.